LAURINBURG, N.C. – Daniel Shirzad (Orlando, Fla.) netted the first Cobra hat trick of the season on Monday night as the Coker men defeated St. Andrews Presbyterian College 4-1 in Conference Carolinas soccer action.

Shirzad wasted no time in scoring his hat trick, scoring the first goal in the 10th minute of the play; a header off a free kick from Rommel Fondin (Palm Bay, Fla.). With that assist, Fondin has recorded at least a point in four of the Cobras first five matches.

St. Andrews did not wait long to even the score. Alex Smith (Winston-Salem, N.C.) also put a header in off a free kick from Marbin Escobar (Jacksonville, Fla.) in the 29th minute to tie the game at 1-1. The score would remain tied as they completed the first half.

After about 10 minutes of the second half, Shirzad found the back of the net again. This time with some help from Chris Dixon (Myrtle Beach, S.C.). Then nine minutes later Tyler Staub (Murrells Inlet, S.C.) delivered a beautiful cross that Shirzad buried in the back of the net for this third and final goal.

Freshman Alex Bracken (Leeds, England) got his first goal of the season in the 75th minute for the Cobras. He went in unassisted and beat the Knights keeper Andrew Pelfrey (Mount Airy, N.C.) one-on-one to give Coker a commanding 4-1 win.

Coker goalkeepers James Sweeney (Huntingtown, Md.) and Ryan Lewis (Satellite Beach, Fla.) combined for four saves in the match, while Pelfrey had seven saves for the Knights.

Coker is now 3-0-2 on the season and 1-0-1 in conference play.

The Cobras return home for their next match on Wednesday, when they will host Mars Hill College; kick-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.